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Baltimore bridge collapse survivor 'fought for his life' after car plunged into river

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Baltimore bridge collapse survivor 'fought for his life' after car plunged into river

One of two construction workers who survived the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore on March 26 is alleging that workers were not told to evacuate as the Dali cargo ship approached a support beam on the bridge.

Attorneys representing Julio Cervantes Suarez told reporters on Monday that workers were taking a break in their cars on the bridge when the cargo ship crashed into the bridge, causing the collapse that killed six construction workers and injured two others. Authorities are still working to recover two of the six deceased after a fourth body was recovered on Monday.

“He fought for his life, and he survived,” attorney Justin Miller told reporters of Suarez during a Monday press conference recorded by FOX 45 Baltimore.

Attorney L. Chris Stewart told the outlet that Suarez was able to narrowly escape the collapse with his life because the windows of his vehicle were manual. Suarez was able to roll his windows down and escape when his car plunged into the Patapsco River while others were trapped.

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE: SALVAGE CREWS RACE AGAINST CLOCK AFTER FOURTH BODY FOUND, FBI LAUNCHES PROBE

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FBI Evidence Response Team members work at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (FBI)

“They were living the American dream. Fixing America’s infrastructure,” Stewart said of the workers on the bridge that day, adding that the six deaths resulting from the collapse were “all preventable.”

Stewart noted that some of the workers were related, and Suarez lost some of his family members in the freak collision. 

FBI OPENS CRIMINAL PROBE INTO BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE: SOURCE

Attorneys Justin Miller, left, and L. Chris Stewart speak about their client Julio Suarez’s fight for survival during the Key Bridge collapse on March 26. (WBFF)

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“It’s left him with severe mental and emotional pain and suffering,” Stewart said of his client. “He lost family members in that. Some of the workers were related, including some of his family who perished.”

AUTHORITIES RECOVER FOURTH BODY FROM FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE WRECKAGE IN BALTIMORE

The Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen after collapsing into the water in Baltimore on March 26, 2024. A cargo ship struck a support beam on the bridge, causing it to fall into the Patapsco River. (Baltimore Fire Rescue)

Suarez does not know how to swim but was able to hang on to a piece of debris in the water, Stewart said.

“He survived because his window was manual. He was able to roll down the window and escape. And then he was able to hang on to some drifting steel and survive,” the attorney explained.

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BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE: SECOND TEMPORARY CHANNEL OPENED, ROUGH WEATHER SLOWS DEBRIS REMOVAL

According to reports, rescuers are still searching for people, while two survivors have been pulled from the Patapsco River. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Attorneys on Monday announced that they will be conducting an independent investigation into Grace Ocean, which owns the Dali. The FBI also announced on Monday that it has opened a criminal investigation into the collapse.

Grace Ocean filed for legal protection of its assets earlier this month, attorneys noted during Monday’s press conference.

MARYLAND GOVERNOR SAYS CONDITIONS ARE ‘UNSAFE’ FOR RESCUE DIVERS AFTER BRIDGE COLLAPSE 

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The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a major span over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, collapsed after it was struck by a large cargo ship, prompting a massive emergency response for multiple people in the water in Maryland on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Jasper Colt/USA Today)

“The Casualty was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of Petitioners, the Vessel, or any persons or entities for whose acts Petitioners may be responsible,” the petition states. “…Petitioners claim exoneration from liability for any and all losses or damage arising out of the Casualty and from any and all claims for damages that have been or may be filed. Petitioners further allege that they have valid defenses to any and all such claims.”

 

An attorney representing Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

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New York

Man Sentenced to 115 Years for Killing N.Y.P.D. Officer in Queens

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Man Sentenced to 115 Years for Killing N.Y.P.D. Officer in Queens

A man was sentenced to 115 years in prison on Monday for the fatal shooting of a New York City police officer who had ordered him to step out of a car in Queens in 2024.

More than 200 people, mostly police officers, packed a courtroom in State Supreme Court in Queens to hear Justice Michael Aloise sentence Guy Rivera in the killing of Jonathan Diller, 31, who was promoted to the rank of detective after his death.

“It took me five minutes to calculate these numbers,” Justice Aloise said. “It’s going to take you a lifetime to calculate the damage you did and the grief that you caused.”

He said that Mr. Rivera had determined his own fate “the second you pulled that trigger.”

Detective Diller’s wife, Stephanie, who sat among the officers in the courtroom, read a statement in court just before the sentencing, speaking of the pain and loss that she and her son, Ryan, now 3, have suffered. Ms. Diller, who testified during the trial, spoke directly to Mr. Rivera as he sat at the defense table.

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“This is the last moment I will allow you to take from me,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You took my husband, Jonathan. You took the future we planned together. The life we were building, the years we were supposed to share together.”

“What you did to Jonathan” she said, “gave me and our son a life sentence without him.”

A jury found Mr. Rivera, 36, guilty earlier this month on four charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in Detective Diller’s death, but acquitted him of the most serious charge, first-degree murder. The decision, after a three-week trial in Queens, stunned the dozens of police officers present when it was announced in the courtroom on April 1.

To find him guilty of murder, the jury had to decide whether they believed Mr. Rivera had intended to kill Detective Diller when he pointed his gun at him in the Far Rockaway section of Queens on March 25, 2024. They ultimately determined that Mr. Rivera had intentionally pulled the trigger, but did not intend to kill him.

Mr. Rivera did not speak at his sentencing at the advice of one of his lawyers, Jamal Johnson, who told Justice Aloise they would appeal the conviction.

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Mr. Johnson, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society, said after the hearing that Justice Aloise’s statement at sentencing showed the court “had already made up its mind about sentencing well before the trial was conducted.”

During the trial, prosecutors said that before the fatal shooting, Detective Diller’s partner, Sgt. Sasha Rosen, saw Mr. Rivera and another man, Lindy Jones, come out of a store and get into a car. Mr. Rivera had an L-shaped object in the pocket of his sweatshirt that resembled a firearm, prosecutors said.

Detective Diller approached the vehicle and asked Mr. Rivera repeatedly to comply with orders. When he did not, Sergeant Rosen reached in to pull him out of the car.

Then Mr. Rivera fired, the jury found. The defense argued that Mr. Rivera’s gun went off accidentally when Sergeant Rosen pulled him out, striking Detective Diller. Prosecutors said Mr. Rivera then turned his gun on Sergeant Rosen, but the weapon jammed.

Justice Aloise did not allow the jury to see video that, the defense contended, showed Mr. Rivera’s arm was broken during his confrontation with the police.

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That evidence would have directly undermined the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Rivera was physically able to pull the trigger when he tried to shoot Sergeant Rosen, they said.

In all, Mr. Rivera was sentenced to 25 years to life for the aggravated manslaughter conviction; 40 years to life for the attempted murder of Sergeant Rosen; and 25 years to life for each of the gun possession counts. He was ordered to serve those sentences consecutively.

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On Monday, after the sentencing, dozens of police officers smiled and embraced one another as they left the courtroom. The prosecutors who tried the case and Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, hugged several of Detective Diller’s family members.

Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, called the sentence “obviously the right result, for him and for anyone who kills a New York City police officer.”

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Outside the courthouse, members of the Police Benevolent Association, the police officers’ union, said they were pleased with the sentence.

“The verdict in this case did not send the right message to the Diller family and every police officer who wears the uniform,” said Patrick Hendry, the union president, who spoke at the foot of the courthouse stairwell, backed by nearly 100 police officers.

“But this sentence,” he said, “it sent the right message.”

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Boston, MA

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical returns to Boston for first time in 25 years

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Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical returns to Boston for first time in 25 years


Say bonjour to the return of “Beauty and the Beast.” The national tour has been in Boston before, but this is the first time in 25 years that Disney is behind the production.

Kyra Belle Johnson stars as Belle, the bookworm who doesn’t quite fit into her quiet village.

“I think part of treating her like a real person is finding the humor and finding the faults and breathing and being present on stage every night,” Johnson said. 

As Mrs. Potts, Kathy Voytko embodies the beloved teapot.

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“When I was talking to my daughters about, ‘How do you feel about mom being gone for the better part of a year?’ They said, ‘Well, geez, mom, we’re gonna miss you, but it’s Mrs. Potts,’” Voytko explained. 

The actors told WBZ-TV that Disney’s involvement in this tour makes a noticeable impact, with Voytko saying, “There is nothing like a Disney-produced Disney production because the magic in the show, the attention to detail, the loving recreation of the movie that we all know and love, plus some elements of surprise.”

Johnson added, “They care about this piece of art so much… And they’re really precious with it, but at the same time, they’re open with it.”

 Book writer Linda Woolverton worked with the cast in the rehearsal room to make sure the piece felt modern.

“She literally changed some scenes and lines specifically for us and our versions of these characters to make it seem grounded and real,” Johnson explained.

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And Johnson gained extra insight into Belle’s life by visiting the Alsace region of France, which inspired the original Disney animators.

“Walking in the town and having like a storefront and then the leaning building that was this like blue and the wooden windows and somebody leaning out of it talking to somebody on the street. These are real places, it’s not just like a made-up place in your head.”

The wonder she felt is echoed in the audience’s response.

“This is a gate for a lot of new theater lovers. We get a lot of people who this is their first show,” said Johnson.

“It’s for everybody,” added Voytko. “It’s for adults, it’s for married couples, it is for a date night, it for a pack of pals who just want to see something nostalgic from their youth and it makes it a thrill for us every single day.”

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You can see Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at the Citizens Opera House in Boston through Sunday.



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Pittsburg, PA

NFL Draft in Pittsburgh sets onsite attendance record, third-best viewership mark

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NFL Draft in Pittsburgh sets onsite attendance record, third-best viewership mark


A historic number of people flooded into Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft on Thursday.

Around 320,000 fans attended the opening round of the draft on Thursday night just outside of Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, which marked an attendance record for round one of the draft, ESPN announced on Monday afternoon. In total, about 805,000 people attended the three-day event.

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ESPN also said that about 13,2 million people tuned in to watch the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, which made it the third-most watched opening round under the current format, which started back in 2010. Only the 2025 and 2020 editions of the draft drew a bigger audience on the first night.

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The league said that a record amount of merchandise was sold throughout the NFL Draft weekend, too, though it did not provide a figure or metric there. The previous record on that front was set last season in Green Bay.

The Las Vegas Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Indiana quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza on Thursday night. Mendoza, who led the Hoosiers to the national championship earlier this year, was not in attendance in Pittsburgh. Instead, he celebrated with his family from home in Miami.

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The NFL Draft will be held next spring in Washington D.C. for the first time in modern history. It’s expected to be held on the National Mall. Washington D.C. held the draft one other time back in December 1940.



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